Interpersonal coordination tendencies shape 1-vs-1 sub-phase performance outcomes in youth soccer

Abstract This study investigated the influence of interpersonal coordination tendencies on performance outcomes of 1-vs-1 sub-phases in youth soccer. Eight male developing soccer players (age: 11.8 ± 0.4 years; training experience: 3.6 ± 1.1 years) performed an in situ simulation of a 1-vs-1 sub-phase of soccer. Data from 82 trials were obtained with motion-analysis techniques, and relative phase used to measure the space-time coordination tendencies of attacker-defender dyads. Approximate entropy (ApEn) was then used to quantify the unpredictability of interpersonal interactions over trials. Results revealed how different modes of interpersonal coordination emerging from attacker-defender dyads influenced the 1-vs-1 performance outcomes. High levels of space-time synchronisation (47%) and unpredictability in interpersonal coordination processes (ApEn: 0.91 ± 0.34) were identified as key features of an attacking player's success. A lead-lag relation attributed to a defending player (34% around −30° values) and a more predictable coordination mode (ApEn: 0.65 ± 0.27, P < 0.001), demonstrated the coordination tendencies underlying the success of defending players in 1-vs-1 sub-phases. These findings revealed how the mutual influence of each player on the behaviour of dyadic systems shaped emergent performance outcomes. More specifically, the findings showed that attacking players should be constrained to exploit the space-time synchrony with defenders in an unpredictable and creative way, while defenders should be encouraged to adopt postures and behaviours that actively constrain the attacker's actions.